Sub:25% reservation for Puducherry students in
admissions in all courses in Pondicherry University – Enquiry into various
irregularities and illegalities committed by the Vice Chancellor – Immediate
intervention of Hon’ble Minister – Requested – Reg.

On behalf of the Students Federation
of India (SFI) and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), we wish to
bring the following to your kind attention for necessary action in public
interest.

When the Pondicherry Central
University was started in the year 1985 there was a lot of expectation among
the people of the Union Territory that their wards would greatly benefit in
education and employment as a result of the establishment of the university. It
was assured by the then authorities of the university that jobs would be
provided to the family of the agriculturists who handed over their land for
setting up the university. It was also assured that 25% reservation would be
provided for the Pondicherry students in all the courses offered in the
university. But despite continuous demand from all quarters to implement the
assurance, the University has not fulfilled its promise so far. This has badly
affected the educational and employment opportunities of the students of the
Union Territory of Pondicherry. The regional reservation of 25% provided for a
few courses at the time of inception alone is being continued. After repeated
representations the university constituted a committee to look into the issue
which recommended extension of 25% reservation in all courses. Though the
recommendation of the committee was taken up for approval by the university in
the Academic Council in May 2013, it was not cleared. It was resolved to constitute
another committee by the Vice-Chancellor only with the view to put off the
issue.Till date a decision has not been
taken in the matter despite the Vice-Chancellor promising that she would give
25% reservation in all the courses offered in the university. As a result, Puducherry
students have been denied reservation for two consecutive academic years
(2013-14 & 2014-15) after promising the same. There is a huge sense of
resentment among the citizens over the way the university authorities have
handled and publicized this sensitive issue. The students feel cheated and are
restive.It may be said in this
connection that Central Government institutions like JIPMER are offering 30%
regional reservation in the UG and PG courses.The reservation has also been extended for the newly started B.Pharm and
Nursing courses.So also in the newly
started NIT in Karaikal, reservation for Puducherry students is available.When various Central Government institutions
are providing regional reservations, it is not proper for the Pondicherry
Central University to deny the reservation in its programmes after having
promised the same.

After the present Vice-Chancellor
took over in February 2013, the academic atmosphere in the university has
worsened and the standards have gone down considerably. No new innovative
programme has been started in the university. In a rash action 4 L.L.M. courses
were withdrawn by the university from the affiliated colleges for 2013-14 on
the ground that a School of Law is being set up for starting L.L.M. courses.
The unjust decision was withdrawn after a strong protest and agitation by the
Law College students.

The Vice-Chancellor made conflicting statements in the
press which showed the university in poor light. The various controversial
actions of the Vice-Chancellor that have tarnished the image of the university
coupled with lowering in standards and steep hike in fees have created a
situation leading to a sharp fall in the number of applications for admissions
to various academic programmes in the university for the academic year 2014-15.
Various irregularities have been reported in conducting the online exam for
admission which needs to be probed. The rural students and those from villages
were handicapped by the way the exam was conducted and deprived of fair
opportunities to attend and appear in the entrance examinations.Improprieties were committed in choosing the
agency for the online examinations and the confidentiality of the exam
conducted is questionable.

The University last year unjustly
suspended two girl students who had filed a complaint against the sexual
harassment they had to face from a senior male student for the entire second
semester of their course. The unjust action of punishing the victims and
letting go the perpetrators of the crime evoked strong protests from the
student community against the cruel victimization of the victims by the
Vice-Chancellor. The sexual harassment of two female students was handled with
total insensitively by the Vice-Chancellor despite frequently posing and
pretending as mother for the entire student community. The humiliated students
went to the High Court of Madras for relief and justice but lakhs were spent by
the Vice-Chancellor to subject them to great suffering and hardship. Even as of
now the suspension of these girl students has not been revoked and they have
not been able to appear for the second semester examination. No enquiry has
been conducted by the sexual harassment committee so far and the victims are
suffering to this day.

Dr. S. Hariharan is facing a CBI case
for irregularities in giving approval to a private Engineering College. Despite
request from CBI and MHRD and CVC, the
Vice-Chancellor is protecting Hariharan from CBI case and all other violations.More unfortunately, the Vice Chancellor has
placed affiliation responsibility of about 100 colleges affiliated to the
University in the hands of Dr Hariharan.Dr. Hariharan was openly interfering in the affairs of the affiliated
colleges and threatening the Principles by using his position as Dean of the
Affiliated Colleges.Several procedural
irregularities have been committed by Dr S Hariharan along with the Vice
Chancellor in affiliation matters for personal interest and monetary gain.

Prof. Chandra Krishnamurthy has made
several appointments in the University arbitrarily without following rules and
regulations of the University.She has
appointed Mr. Ramabathiran, a retired District Judge as the Legal Consultant in
October 2013 for a period of two years without following the Government of
India orders or any procedure in the matter.He is being paid heavily at the rate of Rs.1,25,000/- per month and in
the month of December 2013, he was paid an amount of Rs.1,55,500/- while other
consultants such as Electrical Wing and Civil wing are being paid a
consolidated amount of Rs.25,000/- per month.The post of Legal Consultant has not been created in the
University.There is a full-fledged Legal
Wing functioning in the University.In
order to favour Mr. Ramabathiran, he has been engaged as Legal Consultant
without following procedures prescribed by the Government of India and CVC
guidelines for engagement of Consultants.

The Vice-Chancellor has so far not
taken any action to punish the Director of Academic Staff College & Dean
affiliated colleges Dr. S. Hariharan who assaulted, tortured and illegally kept
in confinement for 2 days a poor and downtrodden PG student of Tamil department
by alleging that he peeped into the ladies hostel and forcing him to admit it.
The student’s innocence was proved without any doubt by a committee constituted
by the committee. The committee after a detailed probe which included CCTV
evidence found that the accusation against the student was false. Instead of
suspending Hariharan andBhushan
Sudhagar (a faculty member who was appointedas Security in charge for the university after driving away a honest and
sincere Superintendent of Police who was discharging the responsibility on
deputation from the Government of Puducherry) and two other security staff,
allinvolved in the brutal treatment and
Human Rights violation meted out to the innocent student, on the advice and
instruction of the Vice-Chancellor, all efforts were taken by the
Vice-Chancellor (also named in the FIR filed by the wounded student) to protect
the Guilty particularly Hariharan who is the confidante and point person of the
Vice-Chancellor in all illegal and irregular actions in the university.
Vice-Chancellor constituted a second committee to get over the finding of the
first committee to buy time to avoid action against Hariharan. The affected
student has written to the National Human Rights Commission for justice. The
NHRC has called for a report. Till now there is no action on the FIR. In the
meantime Hariharan has been rewarded with more important assignments by the
Vice-Chancellor such as member of the Planning Board of the university, the
coordinator for the UGC NET exam 2014. The Vice Chancellor Chandra
Krishnamurthy is desperate to shield and save Hariharan at all costs despite
his proven guilt and acts of omission and commission out of strong fear that he
may expose all her wrongdoings.The
teachers and employees who act fairly are victimized and transferred far of
places.

In a recent development Vice
Chancellor Chandra Krishnamurthy had issued an order to relieve Registrar Mr.
Raajiv Yaduvanshi, I.A.S., of all his duties, an order which she had to cancel
later after the strict order from Human Resources Development Ministry. There
are continuous attempts by the Vice Chancellor to remove Registrar from his
post and put in place her hand picked nominee to conceal her illegal actions.
This kind of highhandedness is unbecoming of the post of Vice Chancellor.

We therefore request the Hon’ble
Minister for Human Resource Development to urgently intervene and bring to an
end all the irregularities, illegalities and violations being committed by the
Vice-Chancellor and her associates which is spoiling the academic and
administrative atmosphere in the University and affecting public interest and creating
resentment and unrest in all quarters, particularly the student community which
has been betrayed by the Vice Chancellor by not honouring the promise of 25%
reservation to the Puducherry students for two consecutive academic years now.We also seek immediate removal of Dr.S.
Hariharan and placing him under suspension pending detailed enquiry for various
lapses and illegal acts and assaulting and confining an innocent P.G.
student.We also request an enquiry
committee to be constituted to probe into the various allegations of
administrative, academic and financial irregularities levelled against the Vice
Chancellor which are of grave and serious nature.The MHRD’s direct intervention is immediately
necessary to save the University and its prestige. Otherwise standards will fall further and the
public and students will lose faith in the University which will be a black mark
for the first time in the history of the University.If this situation is allowed to continue and
the academic atmosphere is not improved, there will be further steep fall in
applications for admissions.The
University will lose its attraction as a destination for study, teaching and
research.

By way of immediate action, we
request the Hon’ble Ministry to kindly initiate necessary steps to accord
clearance for the 25% regional reservation in all existing and future courses
offered by the Pondicherry University in order to promote and protect the
educational and employment interest of the students of Puducherry.

This letter is written in the
interest of the student community and the public of Puducherry.